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Heart rate spike during an easy run?
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Hey folks,

I'm 38, f, probably not as fit as most people on this forum, but I'm fit enough to do sprint and olympic Tri's and be attempting a 70.3 (though I'm not sure I'll make the bike cutoff for my goal of Lake Placid in Sept.). I've never been told there's a problem with my heart. There's heart disease in my family, but I'm literally one of the two people in my extended family who are not obese. My max heart rate is usually 190, and my resting heart rate is usually in the high 50s.

I was out for an easy long run on a recovery weekend today, and my Garmin recorded a weird spike. It was 12.5 minutes in, when I was still warming up on a pancake flat, asphalt path, running 12 minute miles. My heart rate is usually in the 150s at that pace (yesssss, I am sloooooowwww), but my Garmin recorded more than a minute over 200 bpm, with the highest at 212. I feel absolutely fine, I'd even say great, since it's a recovery weekend.

I should also mention that I have a chest strap, the old cheap kind with more plastic.

Does anyone know if this is something I should be concerned about? What's the likelyhood that my Garmin just flipped out?

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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Did you hr go that high or was it just your Garmin? I'd suggest the latter, I've had it do that as the moisture from sweat starts to improve the contact when you've got the strap slightly too loose or low on your chest
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [Duncan74] [ In reply to ]
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That's my hunch. I suppose I'm wondering if someone know more about garmins or hearts and might have some insight. Knowing that the monitor can freak out a little and record a fast heart rate like that is good.

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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Did you feel when it happened?
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [Fishbum] [ In reply to ]
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No.

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I would think I would feel that kind of spike. I have had problems with my Garmin straps. Usually early in the run but not always.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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@GiantNewb If it happens again check your pulse at your wrist, your neck or go ahead and feel your heart. Count the beats in 15secs then multiply by four. Then post back on here if it really did spike high for a diagnosis.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [Mark57] [ In reply to ]
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Dude, chill. I'm obviously not looking for a diagnosis or anything. I wanted to write the whole thing off and move on with my life, but being new to a rigorous workout routine, it seemed prudent to see if anyone on here thought different.

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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Garmin chest straps can be inaccurate when they are dry or when wearing tight clothes over them. Garmin optical HR can be inaccurate for any reason at any time. It mostly works but when it doesn't it fails miserably and it's obvious that software averaging is going on under the covers attempting to mask the problem. Measure your pulse wit ha watch see if it matches the HR readout. The spikes are probably not real.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I've encountered the same types of spikes. In order to avoid them:
  1. Wet your HR strap before putting it on.
  2. Be aware of the clothing that you are wearing when it spikes. I notice there was one specific DriFit running shirt I had that would spike my HR every time.

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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [DJRed] [ In reply to ]
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First thing I thought of as well were the contacts being dry and then by 12 minutes in OP had probably started sweating some. May have messed with the contacts a little bit and caused a wonky reading. I’ve switched over to the Scosche Rhythm 24 and am really liking it more than a chest strap.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I'd say it's more likely that your strap is going bad than anything else. I'd start with checking the electrodes to make sure they're still sealed and then try a new battery if it continues.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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GiantNewb wrote:
Dude, chill. I'm obviously not looking for a diagnosis or anything. I wanted to write the whole thing off and move on with my life, but being new to a rigorous workout routine, it seemed prudent to see if anyone on here thought different.

GiantNewb wrote:
Does anyone know if this is something I should be concerned about?


BTW Pink is supposed to be funny. No offence intended. My bad. Its probably the strap but you should check it manually. Its so easy to do and its something you can use in the pool.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I have several heart rate monitors. Noticed spikes sometimes due to electrical interference, wearing certain types of high tech running shirts, and in winter if I don’t wet the strap enough. My 910xt has been the best though, can’t recall a erroneous reading on that one yet. When I do get a high reading I watch it to make sure it’s real (does it bounce around, how do I feel, am I under power lines).
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [Mark57] [ In reply to ]
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Ahh, my bad. I think that's the second time I misread the tea leaves. Just learning triathlon humor. I'll get it eventually, promise.

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [vonschnapps] [ In reply to ]
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vonschnapps wrote:
I have several heart rate monitors. Noticed spikes sometimes due to electrical interference, wearing certain types of high tech running shirts, and in winter if I don’t wet the strap enough. My 910xt has been the best though, can’t recall a erroneous reading on that one yet. When I do get a high reading I watch it to make sure it’s real (does it bounce around, how do I feel, am I under power lines).

What HR monitor do u use with your 910?
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [Fishbum] [ In reply to ]
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Fishbum wrote:
vonschnapps wrote:
I have several heart rate monitors. Noticed spikes sometimes due to electrical interference, wearing certain types of high tech running shirts, and in winter if I don’t wet the strap enough. My 910xt has been the best though, can’t recall a erroneous reading on that one yet. When I do get a high reading I watch it to make sure it’s real (does it bounce around, how do I feel, am I under power lines).

What HR monitor do u use with your 910?

The ‘run’ version, the Red one.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [vonschnapps] [ In reply to ]
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I see this all the time with my Garmin strap. I usually hold my hand to my chest or get a manual pulse for a second, adjust the strap OR spit on my hand and rub it under the strap as there's not enough sweat or conductance.........and it's all good. Or you could use the water if you have some with you. Then, sometimes a new battery once I get home will make the problem go away for a long long time.

I didn't trust the internet telling me it was fine so used one of those phone-app HR monitors once while it was doing it to confirm the strap was wonky.
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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GiantNewb wrote:
Just learning triathlon humor.

Triathlon humor? Now THAT is funny.

As others have said, HR straps are prone to wonky readings when the contacts are dry or when wearing some technical fabrics, seemingly more so in dry weather. If it happens again, try wetting the contacts with a little saliva or water and see if that fixes the reading. There are also electrode gels made for that purpose if the licking is too awkward. I'm not sure what to do about technical fabrics other than to get them sweaty.

For me, the giveaway of a false reading is the shape of the HR chart after the workout. A "real" HR will look like a terrain profile -- lots of little ups and downs like a hilly or mountainous horizon, with the HR going up or down a beat or two every few seconds. A false reading will look like a series of stair-steps up and down, with the HR reading jumping several beats at once and then staying constant for an extended time

That said, 38 is young, but not too young for a heart problem. If you're doing serious training for the first time, and if there's some heart disease in your family, it's worth getting a physical and bloodwork to be sure you're not a cardiac risk. You can be lean and fit with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or some other invisible risk factor. It seems like you'd feel a HR that jumps over 200, but there could be a fibrillation (treatable) that the HR monitor is picking up.

Not a doctor.


<The Dew Abides>
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I have a spot where I rollerski and it has this long grinding uphill. Every lap, in the exact same spot my HR spikes to 220. Same thing, I feel fine but the numbers are crazy. I looked a while ago , and there is an electrical transformer that is buried beside the road in that exact spot so I'm guessing that's it.
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Post deleted by dtoce [ In reply to ]
Last edited by: dtoce: Jul 1, 19 18:18
Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I had the same problem and started using this

https://www.amazon.com/...p;smid=A5W198TSQJIXA
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [GiantNewb] [ In reply to ]
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I lick the contacts on my strap before every use. Helps get the juices flowing till I start sweating.

Plus if I didn't rinse my strap after the last use, it's like taking a salt lick.

Strava
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Re: Heart rate spike during an easy run? [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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...and now consider the relative rates of straps that show PAF like readings (nearly all in dry conditions, especially before you sweat, double so with a staticy tech shirt) vs people who are actually experiencing PAF (you tell me...I am guessing a few, some?).

That is why the first several respondents suggested taking a pulse when it happens. It is a second measurement. It takes very little time to test and this seems to strike in the first 10 or so minutes of a run so you are likely in some sort of warm-up that a quick break is not any risk of interrupting a workout.



Of course, people should always seek professional help when warranted, but this such an extremely prevalent event that is so amazingly easy to resolve (pulse counting) that running to the doc is overcautious.
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